USA: The Yanks

At the Confederations Cup in South Africa last year, the United States soccer team shocked the world by reaching the finals and beating favorite Spain along the way. The performance got a lot of play in the States and gave hope to the team’s ever-increasing fan base. Last week, in the team’s final friendly on home soil before it departed for South Africa, 68,000 people came out to Philadelphia for the inspired send-off. Perhaps encouraged by a game with a ball shaped like a basketball, even President Barack Obama took time out to meet the team and wish it good luck. This will be the sixth World Cup in a row for the United States, which is more than its Group C rival England can say for itself. Nonetheless, doubt and skepticism regarding this team still exists. Critics cited its success at the Confederations Cup as proof that the tournament meant squat, and in Germany in 2006, despite entering the World Cup with high hopes following a 2002 quarter-final appearance, Italy’s Daniele de Rossi’s nasty red-card elbow that brutally bloodied American star Brian McBride effectively mirrored the way the rest of the soccer world treated the U.S. The Stars and Stripes were knocked out in the first round. This has not deterred the Americans, though. Landon Donovan made a name for himself with a 10-week run in England this winter, at Everton where his U.S. teammate goalkeeper Tim Howard has shined, and defenseman Oguchi “Gooch” Onyewu is nearly fit after missing most of his season at AC Milan with a knee injury. The U.S. is a favorite to advance to the second round this year, and in a country where capitalism reigns supreme, its fans won’t be the only ones invested in its result. ABC/ESPN has poured a record $100 million into broadcast rights for the next two World Cups. If the Americans get knocked out early, more than simply America’s soccer hope will be lost. • Tim Howard’s love affair with England put on hold in South Africa. [New York Post]